Nightmare
by DelicateInnocence
Summary: A short story about Lavi's trouble sleeping. Post-Noah's Ark. A tiny bit of yaoi if you really look


Author's Note: Now, the funny thing is, I thought of this first thing this morning and didn't write it until 11 o'clock this night. I'm exhausted and not really focusing so I'm sorry if I ended it lame, I meant for it to go further and maybe it will. Let me know what you think, but unless someone says something, this is a one-shot. I'm also sorry for any spelling errors, my wordpad has spell check, I'm sure of it, but I can't find it, now do i want to search for it at this time of night when I have to get up at 6 in the morning tomorrow. Enough of my rant, continue reading ^_^

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own -Man or any of it's characters. All adoration and credit goes to the creator whose name I forget (sorry!). I do, however, own this idea (ish).

Compared to the violent clashing and chattering voices of Noah's Ark, the Black Order was peaceful and calming. The exorcists were lying in the infirmary, which had been expanded into the main lobby due to a shortage of actual hospital beds. Most of them had passed out on contact with the first comfy bed they'd seen in weeks, maybe months, but one was caught in the throes of a nightmare, his fist curled around the corner of his pillow and his eyes shut tight.

Lavi moaned low as another wave of blood flew past his eyes, his nightmare leading to a battle field where he stood, helpless as his friends were murdered, one by one. Lenalee lay lifeless near his feet and many others he knew were beaten and bloodied, some even dismembered, scattered around the bloody ground. The only ones he could still see were Allen Walker and Kanda Yuu. Allen yelped as he narrowly dodged an attack, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar or anger Kanda gave as he raised Mugen above his head and slashed violently through the skull of an akuma. Or whatever you could call the cranium section of these mechanical, demonic beasts.

With a sharp smack from his opponent, Allen was sent flying, slamming into one of the only erect objects on this field; a tall, dark tree, identical to many scattered about the wide area. Blood worked its way out of Allen's mouth upon impact and the young boy fell to the ground with a thud.

'Allen!'

Lavi wanted to scream his friends name, but his voice wouldn't work. He was rooted to the ground, unable to speak or even move his hands to his belt where his hammer was.

"Lavi! Lavi, get the hell out of here, what are you doing?!" Kanda's voice startled Lavi, but he turned his attention back to the ebony haired exorcist. Kanda's hands were shaking as he clutched Mugen, resisting the enemy's attack with difficulty.

Right before Lavi's eyes, a bright flash of blue engulfed Kanda and when it cleared, the exorcist lay bloodied on the ground, sword broken beside him.

"No...no, this isn't happening. It can't. Dammit!" Lavi felt tears stream down his face, unable to brush them away as the akuma headed for him. "This isn't right."

"No!" Lavi gasped, sitting upright in his bed, sweat clinging to his body and clothes as he tried to control his ragged breathing.

The room was blissfully quiet in comparision to the screams and mechanical grinding of the nightmare world he'd just escaped from and Lavi sighed. Glancing around, Lavi saw Allen, asleep on a bed next to his own and other beds with still but living bodies tucked under their sheets. Relieved, Lavi ran a hand through his hair, slightly disgusted by the lingering sweat. He quickly used his sheet to wipe the offending substance from his face and neck, kicking the sheets off entirely once he was finished. The cool air of the main room felt comforting against Lavi's body and he relaxed to the sensation.

The sound of running water startled Lavi back to a sitting position and he spotted a flash of darkness in the cafeteria kitchen nearby. Squinting his one eye that wasn't covered by the dark eyepatch, Lavi tried to see the figure, as if squinting actually worked. Lavi's heart lept as he saw the figure step into the light by the kitchen sink, his long hair unbound behind his shoulders as he sipped a glass of water. Not wanting to disturb the boy, but wanting to talk all the same, Lavi forced himself to lie down. Kanda didn't care about nightmares. In fact, Lavi was certain that the only reason Kanda hadn't spoken of ever having nightmares was because the monsters all feared him too much to plague him with such visions. Lavi didn't blame them; the skill behind Mugen's blade was a fearsome thing, to be sure.

It didn't take long before Lavi heard footsteps returning their owner to his bed. As he neared, Lavi debated stopping the exorcist. He hadn't intended to, but just as that thought crossed his mind, his hand extended to catch Kanda by the wrist as the exorcist moved past his bed.

"Hm? Lavi?" Kanda turned to see who the hand belonged to, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the others.

"Yuu?" Lavi whispered in return, his voice sounding foreign to him after its absence in that strange world.

"Baka, what have I told you about my damn name?" Kanda hissed, moving back to pull his arm from Lavi's grip.

"Yuu. I had a nightmare." Lavi murmured. Even mentioning it felt better, like a weight being slowly lifted from his chest.

"Mm? Good for you." Kanda's voice was expressionless, just as Lavi had expected, but the ebony haired boy kneeled by the bedside, annoyed with having to talk down to someone who refused to sit up again.

"I saw you die. All of you." Lavi kept his voice low, not really caring if Kanda was listening. He had started to talk and now he had to finish. "I couldn't do anything."

"Of course not." Kanda's reply was blunt. "No one can do anything about death. You grow strong to protect yourself from it, but when it happens, there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it."

"I wished I could." Lavi whispered, the painful memory making it hard for him to breathe. "It was horrible."

"Go back to sleep, usagi. You'll be fine in the morning." Kanda muttered, pulling the blankets higher up so they covered Lavi's body, but the redhead grabbed his arm again.

"I know this is asking a lot, but could you stay with me? All these still bodies, it's hard for me to tell if they're breathing. If you're nearby, I can tell easier." Lavi asked, hoping above all hope that Kanda would agree. If Allen had been awake, Lavi would've asked him, but here was a fellow exorcist, one he had worried about and the one death that had been most painful for him to watch. Though Lavi couldn't place the emotion he felt, he was sure that Bookman would scold him for it.

Lavi let go as Kanda's hand pulled his away and he felt the exorcist leave his bedside. Feeling oddly betrayed and abandoned, Lavi felt the pain well up in his chest and throat, suffocating him further. That is, until the bed gave a low creak and a body lowered itself down on the bed next to him.

"Yuu?" Lavi asked, his voice hoarse from the tension.

"Go to sleep already." Kanda hissed, a strangely calm aura around him. One Lavi sensed and nearly smiled in relief at.

As Kanda buried himself among Lavi's blankets, the redhead busied himself with covering his torso with what he could of the remaining sheets while sticking his feet out the corner to make sure he didn't over heat.

"Thanks, Yuu." Lavi murmured sleepily, only too happy to fall back asleep, this time with someone to pull him out of another nightmare, should one occur.

"Everyone here has been through a lot. I'm not surprised you're dreaming of death. But you mention this to no one. I'm only here because I'm too tired to argue with you over who sleeps where, alright?" Kanda mumbled in response, the sheets up to his chin.

Lavi almost laughed as he looked over at Kanda; he looked so comfortable and....cute, curled up under the sheets as though it was the middle of winter. Though he'd never voice that for fear of being cut down by Mugen.

Lavi felt himself drifting back to sleep now that his initial nightmare panic had settled down. He made note of the rhythm of Kanda's breathing, storing it away in case he had to reassure himself with the sound later that night. They were here, they were alive. Lavi repeated that to himself as he fell asleep, hoping the morning would arrive soon.


End file.
